[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2439 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2439

To save lives, prevent injuries, and protect property through improved 
  State and local fire safety and prevention education, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 19 (legislative day, September 12), 1994

 Mr. Bryan (for himself and Mr. Gorton) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To save lives, prevent injuries, and protect property through improved 
  State and local fire safety and prevention education, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fire Safety and Prevention Education 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) fire losses in the United States are estimated at 5,000 
        deaths and 29,000 injuries annually, producing an economic loss 
        conservatively estimated at $10,000,000,000 per year, plus more 
        than $1,000,000,000 a year in health care costs;
            (2) sustained and targeted fire safety and prevention 
        education at the State and local levels, particularly in 
        identifiable high-risk populations, produces dramatic results 
        in preventing fires, fire deaths, and dollar losses from fire;
            (3) in recent years, the fire safety and prevention 
        education budgets of fire departments in the United States have 
        been cut dramatically or, in many cases, eliminated;
            (4) there is a need to expand the availability of State and 
        local fire safety and prevention education programs and 
        supporting resources and materials to help State agencies and 
        local fire departments in carrying out effective public 
        education;
            (5) fire departments in other countries with fewer fire 
        deaths per capita than the United States spend an average of 4 
        to 10 percent of the budgets of the departments on fire 
        prevention, versus less than 3 percent for United States fire 
        departments; and
            (6) only by accurately collecting and analyzing data on 
        fire deaths, injuries, and dollar losses can United States fire 
        departments target the populations and regions where 
        educational efforts are most needed to create a more efficient 
        and effective use of resources.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the United States Fire Administration.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means 
        the office of the State fire marshal for a State or an 
        equivalent State office having primary responsibility for fire 
        safety and prevention in the State.
            (3) Fire safety and prevention education program.--The term 
        ``fire safety and prevention education program'' means a 
        program that includes publications, audiovisual presentations, 
        or demonstrations, concerning fire safety and prevention.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
        Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 
        any other territory or possession of the United States.

SEC. 4. FIRE SAFETY AND PREVENTION EDUCATION.

    (a) Authority.--The Administrator may enter into a contract or 
cooperative agreement with, or make a grant to, an eligible entity in 
order to obtain and distribute, at the State and local level, fire 
safety and prevention education programs and supporting educational 
resources.
    (b) Use of Funds.--Of the amounts received by an eligible entity 
under subsection (a)--
            (1) not more than 25 percent may be used for statewide fire 
        safety and prevention education programs;
            (2) not more than 25 percent may be used to implement new 
        regional or local fire safety and prevention education programs 
        targeting high-risk populations; and
            (3) not less than 50 percent shall be used for awards, of 
        not more than $10,000 each, for regional or local fire safety 
        and prevention education programs, in existence on the day 
        before the date of receipt of the amounts, that have been 
        demonstrated to be effective in preventing fires, fire deaths 
        and injuries, and dollar losses from fire.

SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION.

    The Administrator may enter into a contract or cooperative 
agreement with, or make a grant to, a State for the purpose of 
implementing the revised National Fire Incident Reporting System at the 
National Fire Data Center, established under section 9 of the Federal 
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2208), to improve 
and enhance the collection and analysis of fire data at the State and 
local levels.

SEC. 6. APPLICATIONS.

    Each eligible entity or State desiring a contract, cooperative 
agreement, or grant under this Act shall submit an application to the 
Administrator at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
information as the Administrator may reasonably require.

SEC. 7. REPORTS AND EVALUATION.

    (a) Annual Report to Administrator.--An eligible entity receiving 
funds under section 4 shall prepare and submit to the Administrator an 
annual report that contains such information as the Administrator may 
require. At a minimum, the report shall describe each program activity 
undertaken with the funds, including a description of--
            (1) any fire safety and prevention education program that 
        has been developed directly or indirectly by the eligible 
        entity and the target population of the program;
            (2) any support material that has been obtained and the 
        method by which the material is distributed; and
            (3) any initiative undertaken by the entity to develop a 
        public-private partnership to secure non-Federal support for 
        the development or distribution of a program or material in 
        furtherance of this Act.
    (b) Report to Congress.--The Administrator shall prepare and submit 
an annual report to Congress, including a description of each fire 
safety and prevention education program undertaken and any material 
developed or distributed by each eligible entity receiving funds under 
section 4.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Fire Safety and Prevention Education.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out section 4 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 1996 and 1997, of which not more than $500,000 may be spent for 
any fiscal year on administrative costs.
    (b) Data Collection.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out section 5 $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1995, of which not more 
than $300,000 shall be spent on administrative costs.
    (c) Availability.--Amounts made available pursuant to subsection 
(a) or (b) shall remain available until expended.
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